Helicopter parents beware! You may be doing more harm than good! This is Sandra Tsing Loh with the Loh Down on Science. Little Ben is taking FOREVER to finish his homework. As a caring parent, what do you do? Helping might SEEM like the best option. But when and how
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Spidery Surgery
Shooting webs! Climbing walls! What else can Spiderman do? This is Sandra Tsing Loh with the Loh Down on Science. Broken bones are the worst! Fortunately, bone tissue can regrow. Installing metal plates can help support bone growth. But metal can be irritating – isn’t there a better way? Maybe!
Continue readingHow Sweet it is!
Pop quiz: how are smoggy skies and glazed jelly doughnuts alike? This is Sandra Tsing Loh with the Loh Down on Science. Dirty, polluted air can damage our health. From heart disease to cancer, those tiny particles cause big problems! Scientists wondered if air pollution could even cause… diabetes? Ziyad
Continue readingVery Special Specialists
You are special – yes you are! This is Sandra Tsing Loh with the Loh Down on Science. Animals evolved to specialize for life in their environment. For example, polar bear fur is designed for life in the Arctic. Those warm coats would be sweltering in the desert! But we
Continue readingLife Before Tequila
Before there was Tequila, there was … pulque? This is Sandra Tsing Loh with the Loh Down on Science, and possibly the earliest alcohol of Mesoamerica: Pulque. Like Tequila, pulque is distilled from the sap of agave plants. The Aztecs drank it in the 1400s. And it’s still consumed in
Continue readingMommy Deer-est
Who loves the sound of a baby crying? Apparently, everyone! This is Sandra Tsing Loh, with the Loh Down on Science, saying: It’s fundamental! Baby mammals emit distress calls for many reasons: hunger, separation, capture—and having the TV switched off during Sponge Bob. These calls share common acoustic traits among
Continue readingChef’s Secret
Baking soda – so many uses! Teeth brushing, fridge-freshening – your…spleen?? This is Sandra Tsing Loh with the Loh Down on Science. Your spleen is a blood filter and infection fighter! Like a pumped-up boxer in the ring – if you’re threatened by infection, it fights back by releasing M-one
Continue readingCuteness Overload
Puppies – why are they so darn CUTE?! This is Sandra Tsing Loh with the Loh Down on Science. Puppies can be a headache! They pee and poo on the carpet. Ugh! But there’s no doubt about how ADORABLE they are! Is there actually a scientific reason for the cuteness?!
Continue readingHidden Brain
If your eyes are the window to your soul, what’s the window to your brain? This is Sandra Tsing Loh with the Loh Down on Science. Many people suffer from diseases that require brain surgery to treat and monitor. Unfortunately, brain surgery requires an open skull – risky and complex!
Continue readingSlip n’ Slide
Slipping on a banana peel – Cartoon pratfall, or fascinating biology? This is Sandra Tsing Loh with the Loh Down on Science. What makes banana peels so slippery? That’s what Kiyoshi Mabuchi colleagues at Japan’s Kitasato University wondered. So they set up a scientific slip n’ slide! They placed a
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